I had seen that rather charming face before. Both among my dreams, and within this mad desolate plain we sometimes call…reality. Her gracious poise and elegant figure. She possessed eyes that shimmered like that green emerald sea we used to hear about as children; deep and imposing, where many a love lost sailor could be found drowned within her depths. The exquisite feminine beauty that was Lucy Labelle had once stolen my heart and hung it out to dry. Yet, the ball was in my court now.
I would approach the fiery valentine with a glass of cool liquor and a warm smile. That’s how it has always worked. A man walks over to some lonely damsel at the bar with a crisp drink in his hand, ready to be offered. He asks for her name, she tells him. They talk a while, discussing the bleak mundanity of their day-to-day lives, laughing at their false sense of refinement. All whilst the sky aligns to take a better view.
Ah, if only it were that simple with Lucy…
*
“No Lucky…”
Those were her first words. Cutting and incisive, just the way I had always remembered…
“…whatever it is you’re looking for, whatever it is you want,” the girl spoke as soon as I had bumbled my way over, “…the answer’s no.”
She had never been one for small-talk or mindless pleasantry, my Lucy. In truth, only a fool would have expected anything different from the girl. She eventually stirred the straw in her overpriced cocktail and sat up briskly. The red-coloured drink appeared spicy and sweet, just like her.
“But Lucy…” I replied in earnest, “…it’s me, Lucky…”
I pulled up a chair opposite the striking redhead without further invitation. The girl stared back at me coldly, less than impressed…
“I know it’s you…” Lucy replied coldly, “…I don’t want you to bother me here Lucky, is that understood?”
“Yes, but…”
“No buts.”
“But I thought I would never see you again, Luce…” I said, still beaming like a child.
“…likewise.”
Lucy would soon pay witness to a string of abrupt anecdotes and impulsive tales, each one fired straight from my lips like stray bullets from a gun. I proceeded to tell her all about my recent adventures in Clearview. How I had begun work as a private investigator, looking for the missing actor. How I had turned up relatively little until she had just strolled into the bar, with the sticky floor underfoot acting as her catwalk, and all the drunken patrons slumped in their chairs becoming her loving audience.
The girl and I had worked together back in the Big City you see, cutting our teeth as young bucks in the local police-force. Lucy had been a damn shot sharper than I had ever been in those days. A damn shot more successful too! We had been colleagues, friends, sometimes teetering on the edge of something far more colourful and tender…but never quite getting there, it seemed.
“I am perfectly aware of what you’re doing here…” she spoke disapprovingly after a few moments pause, “…you’ve made quite a lot of noise in this town already.”
I looked at her longingly, still lost in those eyes, “…well, word travels faster here than it does in the Big City. You know how it is, I had to get away from that place, Luce…”
“You were fired, Lucky. Let’s not pretend it was anything different.”
“I was suspended, there’s a difference…”
“Sure…”
“Anyway, is it true what they’re saying out there…?” I asked, desperate to discover what her fine self was really doing in this two-bit town.
“About what?”
“…about you and Coburn?”
She suddenly shot me a look that all but confirmed my worst fears. Lucy sat back in her chair with her arms folded, avoiding my question with the utmost defiance…
“No, no, no…” I said, “…you must be joking!? Tell me you’re joking, Luce…”
“Listen. How I spend my time, and who I choose to spend it with…that’s no concern of yours. Not anymore…”
“You can’t be serious…”
“I most certainly can…” she told me in no uncertain terms, “…and Lucky, I most certainly am.”
My heart sank. It fell lower than a snake’s belly at the bottom of a lizard pit, plummeting like a broken vessel towards the ocean floor. Although I sought to remain calm, masking the ugly feeling of jealousy as it bludgeoned its way through the countless butterflies in my stomach…
…inside, I felt like I would be sick.
“So let me get this straight…” I proceeded cautiously, “…you’re telling me you were Coburn’s last known girlfriend, right before he disappeared?”
“Yes…” she began, “…in a manner of speaking, that’s correct.”
“That means you must know all kinds of stuff about the guy! You must know what really happened Luce, on the night Coburn disappeared…”
“No, I’m afraid it’s not like that Lucky…”
“Come one, Luce!” I demanded, “…you were sleeping with the man after all!”
Perhaps I spoke that last line just a little too earnestly. For Lucy had taken to her feet, leaving her hastily concocted cocktail largely untouched on the side of the table.
“Speak to McBride…” she said, readying herself for the exit, “…he still talks a lot about you, Lucky. I think he worries about you a great deal.”
“Ok…but, won’t you let me walk you home at least?”
“Look…” Lucy continued defiantly, “…I’m sorry Lucky, but I think it’s best that you and I remain…distant acquaintances. That’s just how it has to be, I’m afraid.”
It was useless. I was running out of options…
“…but it’s dangerous out there! Haven’t you heard what they’re saying…?”
“About what Lucky?”
“…about the Wolfman?”
“Oh sure…” Lucy laughed for the first time in what felt like an eternity, “…don’t tell me you actually believe any of that crap!?”
“Ok but, when will I see you again?”
“Lucky please…”
“Maybe we could meet at your place some time?”
“You don’t even know where I live…”
“Or mine? Honestly, that’s perfectly ok with me. I live at no. 57 Albion Street, on the third floor. Flat no. 4…”
“No Lucky.”
“What about a simple drink somewhere?” I pleaded once more, grabbing Lucy’s arm before she could swiftly disappear into the night, “…coffee? Tea? It could be my treat, no?”
“Lucky I said…”
“Wherever you want Lucy. Whatever you want…”
She glared at me once again, this time with swarming clouds of fury forming behind her eyes. Then, by some minor miracle of something far more powerful than the mere whims of my desire, Lucy relaxed all of a sudden, speaking to me with a newfound calmness in her tone.
“There’s this new place that just opened up in Town Square…” she spoke slowly, “…opposite the fountain, I forget the name…”
“Yes. Just tell me the time and I’ll be there!”
“They have Happy Hour between 7 and 8, every Saturday.”
“Perfect! So it’s a date?”
Lucy looked back at me one final time with mystic eyes, and what appeared to be the beginnings of a smile on her face…
“…I’ll think about it.” she said.
“You will!?”
“Yes, maybe…”
And that, dear reader…was all I needed to hear.
Minutes after she first walked into that place Lucy was already heading for the door. Her snappy heels clicked with every step she took, whilst her luscious red hair blew gently in the wind. I wanted to chase her, desperate to make up for all the wrongs I had caused back in the Big City. Oh, how I wished I had just plucked up the courage and followed the girl home that night. Back to wherever she lay that fiery red head of hers.
It would have been just like old times…
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